Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Leadership Guiding the Process of Healing
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36
Credit Hours
100% online,* 8-week courses
Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total
Become a Leader in Christian Counseling Settings by Earning a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Leadership
The online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling provides a balanced treatment of spiritual and mental health guidance, which can help equip you as a ministry professional already in the field or if you want to move into a non-licensure Christian counseling role.
The leadership area of study for the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling can help prepare you to handle the administrative and organizational challenges faced by church leaders and ministry professionals. If you find yourself called to leadership in biblical counseling or want to take on more ministry responsibility, then you may benefit from the practical and field-tested Christian leadership methods of our Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Leadership.
*Some exclusions apply. Please refer to our exclusions page for more information.
Accreditation
Liberty Theological Seminary, as part of Liberty University’s John W. Rawlings School of Divinity, is accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). Your seminary degree is approved by ATS and has met rigorous accreditation standards, so you can feel confident that your degree is both academically excellent and well-respected among churches, ministries, and nonprofit organizations.
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Ranked in the Top 10% of Niche.com’s Best Online Schools in America
What Sets Us Apart?
- Private Nonprofit University
- 600+ Online Degrees
- No Standardized Testing for Admission
- Transfer in up to 75% of an Undergrad Degree
- Transfer in up to 50% of a Grad/Doctoral Degree
Why Choose Liberty’s Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Leadership?
If you are already a ministry professional but lack the training to help people struggling with spiritual and mental health crises, completing an online Christian counseling degree like our Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling can help fill in the gaps by building upon your ministry experience. If you want to branch out into a Christian counseling role, the field-specific training and biblical counseling techniques offered in our pastoral counseling degree in leadership are designed to provide much-needed support for biblical counseling in a variety of settings.
Liberty’s pastoral counseling degree online in leadership can benefit you with the strategic planning and administrative skills to manage the day-to-day operation and proper planning of a successful Christian organization, whether that is a church or parachurch ministry. As a Christian counselor who wants to build a counseling ministry, you can become better prepared with the executive skills you need for effective leadership.
Our faculty have years of experience in related fields and dedication to your success, so you can be confident that you are receiving a world-class education. As you complete your internship, you have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the field so that you can be well prepared for an exciting range of possibilities upon graduation.
What Will You Study in the Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling – Leadership?
Our Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling online in leadership is designed to provide a broad set of foundational Christian counseling skills and knowledge along with specialized topic courses and hands-on skills. As you pursue biblical counseling training in the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling you can learn more about how the science of psychology reflects biblical principles of personhood and human nature and how mental health treatment benefits from spiritual health. Additionally, you will have an internship that can be completed in your local community. An experience like this can help you turn your knowledge into wisdom as you impact the counseling field for Christ.
The leadership area of study for the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling emphasizes biblical leadership and administrative skills needed for effective ministry organization. Students pursuing the leadership area of study can learn from the example of great Christian leaders of the past and present while studying the biblical foundations of leadership and conflict resolution.
Please note that the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling is not designed to fulfill clinical counseling licensure requirements. You can view Liberty University’s licensure-track Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree for more information about counseling licensure.
Potential Career Opportunities
As you complete a degree in Christian counseling, like the online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling, you can become more equipped for ministry-based, non-licensure counseling roles in many areas, including marriage and family counseling or addiction counseling.
As a graduate of the leadership area of study, you can be better equipped for ministry leadership positions and the organization and management of Christian counseling ministry. Some of the careers you could pursue include:
- Associate pastor
- Church counselor
- Lay ministry leader
- Life coach
- Outpatient care counselor
Featured Courses
Degree Information
- This program falls under Liberty’s Liberty Theological Seminary.
- View the Graduate Divinity Course Guides (login required).
- This is a non-licensure program that does not fulfill clinical counseling requirements. If you want to become a licensed counselor, you may want to consider Liberty’s Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree.
Degree Completion Plan (PDF)
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Tuition & Aid
Your success is our success, which is why we are committed to providing quality academics at an affordable tuition rate. While other colleges are increasing their tuition, we have frozen tuition rates for the majority of our undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for the past 9 years – and counting.
Grad & Postgrad Divinity Block Rate (9-15 credit hours) | $2,750 |
---|---|
Grad & Postgrad Divinity Part Time (0-8.99 or over 15 credit hours) | $395/Credit |
Military Grad & Postgrad Divinity Block Rate (9-15 credit hours) | $2,475 |
Military Grad & Postgrad Divinity Part Time (0-8.99 or over 15 credit hours) | $275/Credit |
All Tuition & Fees
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Admission Information for Our Online M.A. in Pastoral Counseling
Admission Requirements
- Apply online or over the phone with an admissions counselor by calling (800) 424-9596.
- A non-refundable, non-transferable $50 application fee will be posted on the current application upon enrollment (waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required).
- Send official college transcripts (mailed as sealed, unopened copies or sent via a direct electronic transcript system). A regionally or nationally accredited bachelor’s degree with at least a 2.0 GPA is required for admission in good standing. Applicants who have earned a master’s degree or at least 12 graduate credits from an accredited institution will be assessed on the basis of the master’s-level degree work.
- Unofficial transcripts can be used for acceptance purposes with the submission of a Transcript Request Form.
- Admission to this program also requires:
- The School of Divinity Questionnaire (login required).
- Submission of contact information (login required) for 1 pastoral recommender.
- Applicants whose native language is other than English must submit official scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an approved alternative assessment. For information on alternative assessments or TOEFL waivers, please call Admissions or view the official International Admissions policy.
Preliminary Acceptance
If you are sending in a preliminary transcript for acceptance, you must:
- Be in your final term and planning to start your master’s degree after the last day of class for your bachelor’s degree.
- Complete a Bachelor’s Self-Certification Form confirming your completion date. You may download the form from the Forms and Downloads page or contact an admissions counselor to submit the form on your behalf.
- Submit an official/unofficial transcript to confirm that you are in your final term. The preliminary transcript must show a minimum of 105 completed credit hours.
- If you are a current Liberty University student completing your undergraduate degree, you will need to submit a Degree/Certificate Completion Application.
- Send in an additional, final official transcript with a conferral date on it by the end of your first semester of enrollment in the new master’s degree.
Dual Enrollment
Please see the Online Dual Enrollment page for information about starting graduate courses while finishing your bachelor’s degree.
Transcript Policies
Unofficial College Transcript Policy
Unofficial transcripts combined with a Transcript Request Form can be used for admission. Official transcripts are required within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first, and will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Before sending unofficial college transcripts, please make sure they include the following:
- Your previous school’s name or logo printed on the document
- Cumulative GPA
- A list of completed courses and earned credit broken down by semester
- Degree and date conferred (if applicable)
Official College Transcript Policy
An acceptable official college transcript is one that has been issued directly from the institution and is in a sealed envelope. If you have one in your possession, it must meet the same requirements. If your previous institution offers electronic official transcript processing, they can send the document directly to luoverify@liberty.edu.
If the student uses unofficial transcripts with a Transcript Request Form to gain acceptance, all official transcripts must be received within 60 days of the admissions decision or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first. Failure to send all official transcripts within the 60-day period will prevent enrollment into future terms until all official transcripts have been received.
Admissions Office Contact Information
Liberty University Online Admissions Verification
1971 University Blvd.
Lynchburg, VA 24515
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Ready to Apply?
Submit your application online or over the phone.
Military
Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe.
Who May Qualify?
- Active Duty
- Reserve/National Guard
- Veterans/Retirees
- Spouses of Service Members and Veterans/Retirees
- Current Department of Defense Employees
Available Benefits:
- Tuition discounts – $275 per credit hour for part-time graduate and postgraduate divinity courses
- Discounted divinity block rate – $2,475 per semester*
- Additional discount for veterans who service in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $625 per course)**
- 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)
*Credits taken below 9 and above 15 credit hours per semester are charged at the part-time rate.
**Not applicable to certificates.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are the Benefits of Liberty’s Online Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling?
- Unlike many online Bible colleges or seminaries, Liberty University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
- Study a balanced perspective on the theological principles that underlie psychology and develop effective Christian counseling with a firm biblical worldview.
- Gain marketable real-world experience in biblical counseling by helping people in your community through the pastoral counseling internship.
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